Former top brass enter fog of political war

Former top brass enter the fog of political warPartisan trend could hurt public's perception of military, critics say

MICHAEL HEDGES, Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, August 21, 2004

WASHINGTON - As the verbal shots from former Vietnam swift boat officers continued to sting John Kerry, Democrats rushed out a television ad Friday in which former Air Force Gen. Merrill McPeak lauded the candidate for his "strength" and "common sense."

That was the latest example of the opposing presidential campaigns using ex-military voices in what has become a recurring chorus. Kerry and President Bush have displayed top military officers like rows of bright campaign ribbons that speak to each candidate's worthiness to defend America.

The prominent partisan role embraced by so many top former commanders is fairly unusual in American history, historians said, despite a lengthy record of retired military leaders, starting with George Washington, being involved in politics.

Some historians fear the partisan trend among top retired officers will erode public confidence in the military as an apolitical body that executes the orders of civilian leaders. They also worry that the political bug could spread to the active duty officer corps, weakening the professional ethic to obey orders, whoever is commander in chief. Others, however, back an officer's right to speak out.

"I'm here as an old soldier and a new Democrat," he said, echoing the late Gen. Douglas MacArthur, another "old soldier" who blurred the lines between the military and political.

It is the second presidential election in which a retired chairman of the joint chiefs endorsed a presidential candidate looking to reassure voters about his qualifications for commander in chief. In 2000, Colin Powell spoke at the Republican convention on behalf of George W. Bush and later became Bush's secretary of state.

Rules on political activity

Explicit regulations control the partisan political activities of active duty military personnel. They include a ban on using status as a service member to solicit votes or money for a candidate or party. Also, officers can't make campaign contributions to partisan political candidates or "speak before a partisan political gathering of any kind for promoting a partisan political party or candidate."

The code does not apply to retired officers.

This year the amount of brass lining up to take a partisan role is bigger than in previous elections, analysts said.

Kerry has the backing of Shalikashvili, former presidential candidate retired Gen. Wesley Clark, McPeak and several others. Former top Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni has become a high-profile critic of the war in Iraq.

Taking sides

Along with Franks, former Marine Gen.
P.X. Kelley
is a Bush supporter. Kelley recently blasted Kerry in a conference call sponsored by the Bush campaign for voting against an $87 billion military funding bill.

Kerry's campaign lists eight top former military stars, including former CIA chief and retired Adm. Stansfield Turner, as national security advisers. They have jointly criticized Bush's plan to withdraw troops from Europe and Asia.

The Bush campaign counters with a list of almost 60 people, top military officers and representatives of veterans organizations, who say the president is more qualified than Kerry to make America safer.

"In the past dozen years or so, the professional ethic against involving oneself in politics among even retired officers has fallen away," said Richard Kohn, professor of military history at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "It sends a bad message about the loss of political neutrality of the military to the American people, and it sends a bad message to the serving force about the need to be politically neutral."

Public opinion

"There is a price to be paid if the military is seen to be partisan," he said. "It is going to change the way people see the military, and the way the military sees itself."

Other people, however, argue that officers not only have earned the same right of expression as everyone else, they have important and unique viewpoints on issues from character to security.

Barry McCaffrey, who led an Army division in combat in Desert Storm and then served as drug czar in the Clinton administration, is not taking sides in this election. But he doesn't fault those who do.

"I think it is entirely appropriate for retired military people to express their political opinions," he said. "They have something important to contribute to the national debate."

'It is legal and ethical'

McCaffrey said he is troubled by former military officers appearing en masse to create the impression of overwhelming support for a candidate, "but it is legal and ethical and I had no problem when one of my heroes, Colin Powell, spoke for candidate Bush in 2000."

Beginning in the post-Vietnam era, the officer corps became increasingly conservative and Republican, according to polls. But that didn't manifest itself as public shows of support during campaigns, historians said.

The turning point was 1992. With the Cold War over and national security seen as a distant second to the economy in importance, the door was open for former draft resister Bill Clinton to run for president. He needed the backing of some military heroes to make America comfortable with that, Kohn said.

"That psychological barrier to partisanship for officers fell in 1992 when Clinton was able to line up a lot of former officers to support him," Kohn said.